Taiwan says Chinese carrier group drills close to island

[Raphael]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-china-defence-idUSKCN21U0KE

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A Chinese naval flotilla led by the country’s first aircraft carrier passed by the eastern and southern coasts of Taiwan on Sunday to carry out drills, the island’s defence ministry said, in the latest uptick in military tensions.

Democratically-ruled Taiwan, claimed by China as its sacred territory, has complained of an increased Chinese military presence near the island in the past few weeks, and has told China is should be concentrating on fighting the new coronavirus rather than menacing the island.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said the Liaoning, China’s first operational aircraft carrier, and five accompanying warships passed first through the Miyako Strait, located between Japan’s islands of Miyako and Okinawa, to the northeast of Taiwan, on Saturday.

On Sunday, the carrier group sailed in waters on Taiwan’s east coast and then into seas to the south of Taiwan, carrying out exercises, the ministry added in a statement.

Taiwan’s armed forces monitored the carrier group’s progress throughout and “completed relevant actions in response to ensure national security and protect regional peace and stability”, it added, without elaborating.

Taiwan typically scrambles fighter jets in response to Chinese manoeuvres.

There was no immediate response from China’s Defence Ministry.

China’s two aircraft carriers are no strangers to the waters around Taiwan.

In late December, shortly before presidential and parliamentary elections in Taiwan, China’s newest aircraft carrier, the Shandong, sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a move condemned by Taiwan as attempted intimidation.

The U.S. military has also been active in waters near Taiwan recently.

A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Friday, the same day that Chinese fighter jets drilled in waters close to the island.

Taiwan is China’s most sensitive territorial issue and a potential military flashpoint. China has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

 

[vi-va]

Enjoy!

 

[Beidou2020]

Just wait until Type 003 and especially Type 004 (110,000 ton, nuclear powered, EMALS) aircraft carriers come into service.

They will be protected by Type 055 cruisers, Type 054A frigates, Type 095 SSN, Type 901 supply ship.

 

[8888888888888]

Good.

 

[cochine]

Trump OK’s F-16 Sale To Taiwan Amid China Tensions

On August 16, 2019 by e-News.US


Trump OK’s F-16 sale to Taiwan amid China tensions

WASHINGTON ― The Trump administration has informally green lit a potential major arms sale to Taiwan involving dozens of new Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter jets, according to administration and Capitol Hill sources.

The move is part of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s larger drive to combine arms bought from the U.S with domestically developed training jets, submarines and other weapons technology. It’s also sure to infuriate China amid its tense trade dispute with the U.S. and controversial crackdown on Hong Kong protesters.

The fighter jet sale had been in limbo as the White House directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to hold off, Capitol Hill sources said. That fueled speculation Trump planned to use it as a bargaining chip in ongoing trade negotiations with China.

Washington negotiated the sale with Taipei over several years, leaning on leaders the island nation to devote a significant part of its budget to purchase the fighter jets. Lawmakers were concerned a reversal by Trump who look bad for Tsai, whose government has proposed increasing the total national defense budget by 5.2 percent in 2020 and is running for reelection.

The State Department advanced the sale late yesterday for informal review and approval by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to Capitol Hill sources. From there, there is a mandatory 30-calendar-day formal review process before state can issue a letter of offer and acceptance to Taiwan for the sale.

“We are aware of media reports regarding a possible sale of F-16 fighter aircraft to Taiwan. The Department does not comment on proposed defense sales until they are formally notified to Congress,” one State Department official said.

The U.S. is Taiwan’s main supplier of defensive weapons, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. However Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan part of China, to be annexed by force if necessary ― and it has objected to past U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

The F-16V is the most advanced version of a plane that already forms the backbone of Taiwan’s air forces. The country is expected to use the F-16Vs to replace the Northrop F-5E/Fs that are being retired in the next couple of years. Taiwan was also hoping to be cleared to buy F-35s, particularly the STOVL F-35B variant, but approval for that jet does not appear forthcoming.
https://e-news.us/trump-oks-f-16-sale-to-taiwan-amid-china-tensions/